


Happy Endings

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Art As Flirting, Explosives As Flirting, Extra Treat, F/F, Fic As Flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 06:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12834894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Sabine and Numa make paint grenades together.





	Happy Endings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevenofspade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenofspade/gifts).



"Then you add one part copper powder, and combine carefully." Sabine's hands remained steady. Unsteady hands were not a survival trait when mixing explosives. She poured her concoction through a funnel into the compartment of the grenade, tamping it down with the compaction tool she'd designed to prevent the completed weapons from blowing up in her face. Then she sealed the casing.

She tossed the grenade to Numa, who caught it nervously. "You're sure it's stable?"

"Oh, yeah. You've made these before, right?"

"Yes," she said, stowing the lethal ball in her sack with the others. "I've never added extra materials to make it pretty."

"Expressing yourself is half the fun of any rebellion."

"If you say so." She sounded unconvinced, but again, convincing Numa of most things took time. She'd been fighting in the Free Ryloth movement for more than half of her life. Survival had meant believing whatever Hera's dad told her. Sabine was sure self-expression was low on his list of important topics, which would have meant it was low on Numa's list, too. But Hera's dad wasn't here right now.

Sabine scooped together three more greens, then changed her formulation for the next set. "These don't burn with any particular colors, but they leave behind a burst of pigment. What's your favorite color?"

"What?"

"Favorite color. Yours." She gave Numa an encouraging smile. "Come on, there has to be a color that makes you happy to see."

"Yellow," she said, then covered her mouth as she gave an embarrassed laugh. "I've never told anyone."

"Why not?" Sabine asked, putting in extra yellow paint for this set.

"It didn't seem important." Yeah, she'd never been out to have any fun. Sabine decided she was going to do something about that.

"It's something that makes you happy," she said, handing Numa another grenade. "That makes it important."

"To who?"

"To me." She smiled again, and there, finally, was the reluctant grin returning to her. Numa had always been pretty, even when she'd pointed a blaster at Sabine and stunned her, but when she smiled back, Sabine thought she was absolutely stunning.

Numa coughed, dropping her eyes. "Do you ever create an entire spectrum of colors to use?"

"Sure. There's nothing better than seeing a bunch of groaning stormtroopers on the ground in the middle of an explosive rainbow."

"I would like to see that."

"Your wish is my," Sabine put her hand down for her next color, and realized she was out of red. She sighed. "Your wish is my wish. I need to pick up more supplies."

Together, they put together three dozen more colorful grenades, storing them carefully. As they worked, Sabine asked, "Do you ever get any down time to do what you want?"

"Not much. There is always work to be done, and planning our next move."

"I guess you never get a chance to unwind."

"I sleep. I even have my own bed. That's more luxury than many of our people can afford now."

Sabine's pulse jumped at the thought of Numa in her own bed. She probably slept in her clothes in a bedroll on a rock ledge in a cave with her arm as her only pillow, but Sabine's imagination was happy to draw a far different picture. She ought to have a giant bed, high and soft, with fine cobalt-blue draperies hanging around, and lush sheets with golden threads. She'd wear a thin nightgown, red and lustrous as rubies to contrast with her aqua skin, stopping right at her thigh, with thin straps on her arms to show off her muscular shoulders. She would rest there, arms spread and eyes glittering, awaiting her lover.

She shook off the thought, as Numa watched her innocently. She was older than Sabine by a few years, but at times like this, Sabine was well aware of how much more of the galaxy she'd seen.

"I mean," she said, hoping she didn't give away the fantasy on her own face, "do you ever have fun? Do you express yourself?" She stomped on her impulse to ask if Numa danced. The dancing thing was a stereotype which had caused no end of problems for Twi'lek women all over the galaxy, Sabine knew it, and Hera would chew her ear off for even bringing it up.

Numa tamped down the mixture in the grenade in her hand. "Can you keep a secret?"

Sabine nodded. She did not add that she was more than happy to learn all Numa's secrets.

"You have to promise not to laugh."

"I promise."

"I write," she said, and she ducked her face before looking to see if there was any mockery.

"That's cool. What do you write?"

"Nothing. It's silly." She took the stir rod to mix another batch, and Sabine plucked the rod from her hands.

"You're nervous. Never mix explosives when you're nervous." She set the bowl aside. "You want to talk about this? I don't think writing is silly if it makes you happy."

"You're the only one, then."

"I make paint bombs and graffiti. What do you write?"

Numa watched her. "You promised."

"I did. I won't laugh and I won't tell."

"Our village school shut down when I was a child. We learned our lessons from the datareels that survived the bombings, and whatever books we found. I've always liked the romantic books." She blushed, her skin darkening sweetly on her cheeks. "The farmhand who falls in love with the widow. The soldier who falls in love with his fellow soldier. All of it. They make me happy, to think people can find that kind of love no matter what. I write that."

It was the most Numa had ever said to her in one sitting, and Sabine appreciated the gift of this glimpse into her head. She'd lived in the horrors of war since she'd been a little girl. She created worlds where the bad parts led to a happy ending.

"I'd love to read one of your stories some time. You've seen my paintings." She considered. "I could even illustrate something for you, if you'd like."

"I don't show anyone what I write," Numa said, blushing even deeper. So they were those kinds of stories, hm? Sabine held her pleased sigh.

"That's fine. Whatever you're comfortable with. But if you ever wanted someone to be an audience, let me know."

"Thanks."

They finished the last few grenades. Sabine asked, "Are you working on a story now?"

Numa didn't say anything at first, counting up their supply. "I'm gathering ideas," she admitted after a while.

"Like what? I could help you brainstorm." With the grenades finished, her excuse for spending time with Numa was coming to a close, and Sabine wanted to find reasons to stay.

"It's not really a plot yet."

"Just characters?"

"Something like that. There's a woman, fairly young, who's spent her life fighting a war. She thinks that's all there is, because everyone has told her that's all there is."

"Good start," Sabine said, encouraging her.

Numa's lips twitched with a smile. "One day, she meets someone." Typical romance set-up, Sabine thought. "And she discovers that there's more to life than just setting bombs and overthrowing the Empire." She ran a finger through the last of the yellow pigment. "Sometimes there's blowing up the Empire in style, and sometimes there's blowing up the Empire beside someone you care about."

"Sounds like a great story. Is this one of the sad ones, where the guy she kind of likes is an Imperial, and they have a forbidden affair?"

"No, this is one of the happy ones, where the woman she likes quite a lot is on the same side she is, even if they disagree about strategy sometimes." Numa took her finger-full of pigment, and with the most hesitant of hands, stroked a line down Sabine's cheek. Sabine cupped her hand, holding it in place, enjoying the feel of Numa touching her face.

"I think I like this story." She turned her head and pressed a kiss against Numa's palm.

"I'd hoped you would."

Sabine considered a witty comment about giving Numa some extra inspiration, but suddenly Numa was kissing her, and that turned out to be inspiring enough for them both.


End file.
